


Namikaze Naruto (Discontinued)

by NeverendingTempest



Category: Naruto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-11
Updated: 2015-06-30
Packaged: 2018-04-03 21:08:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 17,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4115008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeverendingTempest/pseuds/NeverendingTempest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Currently being rewritten and will be posted as a separate work under the same name.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Prepare for a lot of ooc coming your way! This is about what could have happened if the Sandaime sealed the Kyuubi instead of Yondaime. Team 7 will be pretty different. And no, I am not a Sakura hater. If there appears to be any Sakura bashing, it is all part of the plot.

Years ago, the Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked the village of Konoha. It’s mighty tails could crumble mountains and cause tsunamis. To fight the kyuubi all the shinobi from the village came to fight it. One brave shinobi was able to seal the fox away at the cost of his own life. This shinobi was the Sandaime Hokage.

xxx

Kakashi stared up at the door before him, or more specifically, the chalkboard eraser trapped in it. He could hear the quiet whispering of the graduates on the otherside. Did they really believe that a Jounin would fall for such a trick? He sighed and shook his head. This was going to be a long day. He reached up to grab it before opening the door.  
“Dammit!” the blonde genin moaned in disappointment.   
“I’m sorry! I tried to stop him!” the girl said.  
“I’m sure Kakashi has seen enough of your pranks to see though them a mile away,” the raven-haired boy scoffed.   
“What a surprise to see you, Naruto-kun,” Kakashi said.  
“Riiight,” Sasuke said.   
Naruto shook his head. He had known the boy since he was in diapers and somehow he had failed to change at all in thirteen years. He had hoped that when he befriended the Uchiha not long after joining the academy the boy would be a calming influence. Alas, his hopes were shattered when Naruto seemed to corrupt Sasuke. The girl- Sakura was her name- Kakashi didn’t know much about. She scored high on all the intellectual tests, but barely passed the physical. How this poor girl ended up on a team with these two, he had no clue.   
“What next? We gonna get our first mission?” Naruto asked excitedly.  
“No, we are going on a pleasant walk through the flower fields,” Sasuke said.  
“Oh, god no! Onibaa-san would have our heads if she catches us there again, dattebayo!” Naruto groaned.  
“Will you two grow up? Today is an important day!” Sakura scolded.  
Sasuke stuck his tongue out at the girl, who rolled her eyes,  
What did he get himself into?

xxx

“Well, let’s begin with introducing ourselves,” Kakashi said.  
“Eh? But we already know each other, ‘ttebayo!” Naruto complained.  
“That’s not entirely true. I have just met Sakura,” Kakashi pointed out.   
“No one cares about Sakura,” Sasuke and Naruto said.  
“Shut up, you morons!” Sakura snapped.  
“You are going to do it because I said so,” Kakashi said firmly. “Start with your names, likes, dislikes and your dreams, maybe your hobbies..”  
“Then you start ‘ttebayo!” Naruto said.  
“Fine. My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes.. My dreams for the future… my hobbies… I have a lot of hobbies…”  
“Translated: My likes and dislikes are too embarrassing and perverted to share, my hobbies are reading erotic books written by the Sage of Perverts himself and my dream is to one day stop being a closet pervert!” Naruto said. Sakura gaped at him while Sasuke chuckled.   
“Thank you for volunteering, Naruto,” Kakashi said. Naruto rolled his eyes and smiled proudly.  
“My name is Namikaze Naruto. I like Ramen. I don’t like having to wait for my ramen. My hobbies are pranking people. My dream,” Naruto sat up straighter, “is to become Hokage and to surpass my predecessors!”   
“Do you even know what that word means-ow!” Sakura looked around and tried to find the source of the bump on the back of her head, but all she saw was Uchiha Sasuke trying to act as innocent as possible.   
“Next, please,” Kakashi sighed.  
“Haruno Sakura,” Sakura said as she rubbed the back of her head. “I like sweets” Sasuke gagged “my hobbies are studying mostly. I don’t like annoying boys” Naruto stuck his tongue out at her and Sasuke rolled his eyes “my dream is to become Konoha’s strongest kunoichi.”  
Sakura was surprised when neither boy had something to say to that.   
“Your turn.”  
“U-chi-ha Sa-su-ke,” Sasuke punctuated every syllable in a way that irritated Sakura. “My likes… ahhh… I guess… my friends maybe? Yeah, I think I might like them. Just a bit.”  
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I love you too,” Naruto said.  
“My dislikes, that’s easy. I don’t like sweets. Or nerds. I definitely don’t like pink. My hobbies include staring at random strangers until they freak out or have a nervous breakdown.”   
“Or they beat the crap outta you,” Naruto snickered as he remembered one such event.   
“My dreams… I don’t really have one.”  
“Lame,” Naruto called out.  
“Well, that’s enough of that,” Kakashi said. “We will start our shinobi duties tomorrow.”  
“What kind of duties?” Naruto asked excitedly.  
“We are going to do something with just the four of us.”  
“Whatisitwhatisitwhatisit!”   
“Calm down, you hyper chihuahua!” Sasuke chuckled.  
“Survival training.”  
“...eh?”  
“Why training? Didn’t we get enough training at the academy?” Sakura asked,   
“This is not normal training. I will be your opponent,” Kakashi said. Kakashi couldn’t help but laugh at the look on their faces.   
“What’s so funny?” Sakura demanded.   
“You are going to freak out…” Kakashi said between laughs. “Of the 27 graduates, only 9 will be chosen to become shinobi. The rest will be sent back to the academy.”  
The three stared at him in shock.   
“Hahaha told you you’d freak out!”  
“What? Why? We worked so hard!”  
“Why have a final exam then?” Sakura asked.  
“That was to choose those who had a chance at becoming genin. Bring all your shinobi tools. And don’t eat breakfast, or you’ll throw up. Take these,” Kakashi handed all three of them a sheet of paper before disappearing. Naruto groaned and laid back onto the stairs.   
Sakura left, grumbling to herself.  
“Well,” Sasuke moved to rest his head on Naruto’s stomach. He began reading the paper Kakashi had left. “That was unexpected.”  
“Yeah. Right.”  
“I might have heard something about it…” Sasuke confessed.  
“And you didn’t tell me about it? Some best friend you are,” Naruto growled.  
“And miss out on your reaction? You should have seen the look on your face!” Sasuke laughed. “Consider it revenge for the other day.”  
“Teme.”  
“Dobe. We should probably head home.”  
“Ichiraku?” Naruto offered.  
“Meh. You’re paying.”  
“Yeeaahh no. Teuchi said he’s treating us tonight for graduating.”   
“Beat you there.”  
“Try it, dattebayo!”


	2. Chapter 2

“You’re late!”  
The three agree cries filled Kakashi’s ears made him cringe. He shook his head and pulled the alarm clock from his bag and placed it on a nearby stump.  
“This is set for noon,” Kakashi said. He showed them the two bells in his hand. “You have until then to get the bells. Those who don’t a bell will be tied to a log and will not get lunch. I might even eat in front of you… Oh, and the one who doesn’t get a bell will be sent back to the academy.”  
“Sadistic bastard,” Sasuke grumbled. Sasuke knew better than to believe that. They had to be a four man team: one jounin and three genin. That last part had to be complete bull he made up to get them riled up.   
“You can use any weapon you want. You won’t win if you don’t come at me with the intent to kill.”  
“Hey, isn’t that dangerous?” Sakura asked.  
“We’re shinobi, what did you expect? Baka.” Sakura glared at Sasuke who was unaffected.  
“Well, don’t blame us if your ass ends up in the hospital!” Naruto exclaimed.   
“The dog with the loudest bark usually has no bite. Now, ignoring dead last here…”  
Sasuke groaned the moment he saw the look on Naruto’s face. He moved to stop him, but his friend already had the kunai in his hand and was aimed the throw it. Before they knew it, Kakashi was behind Naruto, one hand planted firmly on his head and the other holding the hand with the kunai to the back of his neck.   
Naruto smirked slightly. As expected of the Yondaime’s former pupil.  
“Well it seems you’re finally ready to come at me with the intent to kill. So you’ve finally acknowledged me?” Sasuke eyed the jounin warily as he spoke. He wouldn’t dare actually hurt Naruto, right? “I think I’m beginning to like you. Ready? Begin!”  
The three genin dispersed. Sasuke hid himself up in a tree. He could see Sakura hiding under a bush. Where was…?  
“Yo, teme.”  
“Baka! What are you doing?” Sasuke hissed.   
“I have an idea,” Naruto whispered.

xxx

“I challenge you to a fight!” Naruto announced.   
“You’re a bit off…”  
Naruto charged at the Jounin, but stopped when he reached into his pouch. Naruto’s face changed from wary to incredulous as he realized what Kakashi had just pulled out of his pocket.   
“Seriously? You’re going to read that crap now?” Naruto asked.   
“Oh don’t worry about it. Just go back to what you were doing,” Kakashi said absentmindedly.   
“That’s it!” Naruto formed a familiar cross seal with his hands. “Kage Bushin no Jutsu!”   
Sakura gasped when eight more Narutos appeared out of no where. She thought Naruto couldn’t use the Bushin no jutsu! But these were different. It was as though they had an actual physical body. But wasn’t the bushin no jutsu an illusion? The Narutos charged at Kakashi. Kakashi shook his head.   
“As impressive as it is for someone at your level to use this technique, there’s no way it will work on me-”  
Kakashi was cut off when he felt a pair of arms grab him from behind.   
“You should watch your surroundings a bit more,” Sasuke smirked.  
“Hmm,” Kakashi smirked a bit. He should have known Sasuke would have Naruto’s back. It was hard to find one without the other.   
“You’re mine!” Naruto shouted as his fist landed right on one of his clones’ face.  
“Eh?”


	3. Chapter 3

“What did you do, teme?” Naruto snapped at his friend.  
“It’s not my fault!” Sasuke said as he let go of the bushin.  
“I know! You’re really Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto accused the bushin.  
“No, you idiot, he used a kawarimi! This is one of the most basic techniques they teach at the academy,” Sasuke said.  
Naruto cursed under his breath as he released his bushin.   
“If it was so basic, why did you let him get away?” Naruto snapped.  
“Me? What about you?”   
“You were holding him!”   
“You were the moron who punched his own clone!”  
“Why I outta-”  
Ultimately, it was Sasuke who threw the first punch. Within seconds, the two boys were wrestling on the ground and kicking up enough dirt to make it hard for Sakura to see what was going on anymore. Seriously, the two could never seem to decide if they were friends or enemies. If they weren’t goofing off and messing with people, they were at each other’s throat.   
Almost like brothers, she thought.   
“Hey!” Naruto stopped suddenly which caused Sasuke’s punch to miss and for the Uchiha to fall forward and land on his face.   
“What?” Sasuke snapped as he sat up and dusted off his face.   
“Kakashi dropped a bell!” Naruto said. Sasuke watched confused as Naruto went to pick up the bell under the tree. Wait…  
“Naruto, stop! It’s a tra-”  
“AHHHH!”  
Sasuke winced as the ropes caught Naruto’s legs and Naruto was swung upside down into the air. Naruto cursed as he swung around on the rope. Sasuke sighed as he got to his feet Sasuke started to approach the trapped boy but hesitated. He looked over to where something caught his eye.  
“What are you waiting for?” Naruto snapped. “Get me down!”  
“Yeah I’ll be right back,” Sasuke said before darting into the trees.   
“Hey! Get back here, teeemeee!” Naruto yelled as he swung around on the rope.   
“Think before using a jutsu, or it could be used against you.”  
“Ack!” Naruto didn’t even notice Kakashi coming up from behind him until he had bent down to pick up the bell.   
“And don’t fall for such an obvious trap, baka,” Kakashi said as he held the bell in front of Naruto teasingly. Naruto tried to grab it, but Kakashi was too quick for him.   
“A shinobi must be able to see what’s beneath the underneath,” Kakashi said.  
“I know that!”  
“I’m telling you because you don’t know-”  
Naruto screamed as a several kunai and shuriken hit Kakashi from the side. Sakura gasped in horror.   
“Teme! You went too far!” Naruto screamed. Sakura couldn’t help but sigh in relief when she saw the kawarimi.  
Those shuriken were Sasuke’s but they almost looked like they came from my direction, Sakura thought. Dammit!  
Sasuke watched from a distance as Sakura took off. It took her long enough to notice. He waited until he was sure the coast was clear before coming out. Naruto was bent in half, trying to cut the rope.  
“That’s not going to work, dobe,” Sasuke told him.   
“Watch me, teme-got it!”  
Naruto dropped to the ground with a triumphant grin only to be launched back in the air again as another rope snapped around his ankle.   
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Naruto screamed.   
“I told you,” Sasuke said in singsong.  
“Shut up and get me down!”  
“Nah, I think I’ll just hang out a bit, watch the clouds maybe.”  
“When I get down- hey! There are lunches over there!” Naruto called.  
“So wh- no. No no no no no,” Sasuke said.  
“Oh, come on, he said to look beneath the underneath!” Naruto said.  
“I doubt cheating is what he meant,” Sasuke said.  
“Oh, come on! I know you’ve got bird-butt hair, but I didn’t think you were actually a chicken!” Naruto called.  
“Wh-what I-I-I I’m not-!” Sasuke sputtered.   
“Than come on! Get me down!” Naruto said.  
Sasuke sighed as he pulled a kunai from his pouch. They heard Sakura’s scream off in the distance.   
“This is such a bad idea,” Sasuke muttered.


	4. Chapter 4

“I told you that was a bad idea,” Sasuke growled.   
“Oh, shut up! Chicken-butt,” Naruto grumbled.   
“Alrighty everyone, since Sasuke and Naruto decided to try and cheat to get the lunches, only Sakura will be getting any food today,” Kakashi said. The two boys struggled against the ropes tying them to the tree. “You guys look like you’re hungry. Oh, and about the training, there’s no need for you guys to go back to the academy.”  
“Really? Then the three of us-”  
“Yeah, the three of you should quit being shinobi,” Kakashi said.  
“Quit being shinobi? What’s that supposed to mean ‘ttebayo!” Naruto screamed. “So we didn’t get the bells, but why do we have to quit?”  
“Because you are all punks who don’t deserve to be shinobi,” Kakashi said.   
“Are you to say that again, you stupid scarecrow!” Sasuke snapped.   
“Are you guys underestimating shinobi?” Kakashi practically growled. “Why do you think you were put into teams and given this training mission?”   
“What are you talking about?” Sakura asked.   
“You do not understand the answer to this test,” Kakashi said.   
“Answer? What answer?” Sakura demanded.   
“The answer that will help you pass this test.”  
“Are you going to tell us or what?” Sasuke snapped.  
“Teamwork.”   
The three blinked.   
“If you had all worked together, you would have gotten the bells,” Kakashi said.   
“But there are only two bells!” Sakura protested. “No matter what, one of us would fail!”   
“Of course! It was set up to make you fight amongst yourselves,” Kakashi explained. “It was designed to see if you would be able to set aside your own interests and work together as a team. Naruto and Sasuke tried, but you just ended up fighting each other and completely ignored Sakura. Even if you did manage to get the bells, you would have left Sakura out to dry. Plus Sasuke used Sakura to draw attention away from himself to get to Naruto! Not that Sakura seemed very keen on helping either of you anyway.”  
The three looked away, ashamed.   
“Being a part of the team does you no good if you exclude part of it. What would you do if Naruto and Sasuke were to be off trying to protect each other and the enemy got a hold of Sakura? Or what if you two started to fight amongst yourselves and the enemy managed to sneak up on you? One of you could be dead- or worse.”  
Kakashi walked over to a stone near the logs. He looked down at the names carved onto the stone and focused in on one name in particular.   
“Do you see the names carved on this stone? These are the names of heroes who have been recognized as heroes of the village,” Kakashi said.   
“I already know about that dattebayo,” Naruto mumbled.   
“Then you know that the names written on this stone are all heroes who died on the line of duty,” Kakashi said.   
“This is a memorial. My best friend’s name is also on here and so is your mother’s, Naruto,” Kakashi said. Naruto looked over to where he knew the name Uzumaki Kushina was written.   
Naruto’s mother? Sakura thought. She was caught off guard by Naruto’s expression. She’s never seen such a sad look on his face before.   
“I’ll give you guys one more chance but after lunch. It will be even tougher to get the bells. Sakura, if you want to challenge me again, you may eat. But don’t give any to the boys. That is their punishment for trying to eat on their own. If you give them any, you will fail,” Kakashi glared at her. “I am the rule here, got that?”  
With that, Kakashi left.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to upload the new chapter here yesterday! Whoops. There will be two today, at least!

“This is your fault!”  
“My fault?”  
“It was your idea to try to steal the lunches!”   
“It’s not like you tried to stop me, dattebayo!”  
“I told you it was a bad idea!”  
“Will you two shut up!” Sakura finally snapped. The two boys were fighting from their logs, their feet pressed together in some contest of strength.   
“You shut up! You’re the only one who fainted, ttebayo!” Naruto snapped.   
“And I’m the only one not tied to log!” Sakura pointed out.  
“Only because you fainted!”  
“That has nothing to do with it, you idiot!”   
“Don’t call Naruto an idiot!” Sasuke snapped. He turned his focus back to Naruto. “This is still your fault, idiot!”   
“What is it with you two!” Sakura screamed. “Are you friends or not?”  
“This- as far as I’m concerned- is my very annoying younger brother whom I would very much like to kill at the moment!” Sasuke declared angrily.   
“Why do I have to be the younger one, dattebayo!”   
“Because you are younger, stupid!”  
“We should act on our own again,” Sasuke said, still fighting with Naruto. “Or at least pretend to.”  
“Eh?” Sakura was confused.   
“We can make a big show of Naruto and I excluding you from the plan and have you storm off in a huff. Than while we distract him, you can try to sneak up and steal the bells. Hopefully he won’t be expecting that,” Sasuke said.   
“Yeah, then you can keep one and give the other to Sasuke,” Naruto said.   
“What? No! You’ll get the other bell!”  
“Oh, hell no! You two get the bells!”  
“Why?”  
“Because I said so! Besides, it’s your plan, dattebayo!”  
The two became so wrapped up in their argument that they didn’t notice Sakura pick up the second lunch from where Kakashi had left it next to the memorial stone. She unwrapped it and used the chopsticks to pick up some of the rice and shove it in Sasuke’s mouth. Sasuke nearly choked.   
“What are you doing?” Naruto asked.  
“You two won’t be any use without food,” Sakura said. “Kakashi isn’t here right now. It’s not like he’ll know.”  
Sakura gave the next bite to Naruto who ate it with a grimace.   
“Ew… Sasuke cooties,” he said after swallowing.   
“Seriously?” Sakura glared at him.   
“Thank you, Sakura!” Naruto grinned.   
“Hn,” was all Sasuke said.   
“YOU THREE!”  
Sakura shrieked as a cloud appeared out of no where, announcing the arrival of the jounin. The three braced themselves, preparing for the worse.  
“...pass!”  
Eh?  
“What? Why?” Sakura was confused.   
“You three were the first. The others just followed my orders like mindless puppets. They were morons,” Kakashi shook his head. “The who break the codes of the shinobi world are trash but you know what? Those who abandon their comrades are lower than trash.”  
“He is so cool,” Naruto whispered just loud enough for Sasuke to hear.  
“Hn,” was all Sasuke said in agreement.   
“That ends the final test! You all pass! Tomorrow, Team 7 will begin it’s official duties!”   
“We did it!” Naruto and Sasuke cheered.   
“Let’s go!” Kakashi said as he and Sakura began to leave.  
“HEY! UNTIE US!”  
“DATTEBAYO!”

xxx

“So they passed? That’s great!” the Hokage let out a relieved sigh. “You’ve never passed anyone before. I was worried!”   
“I almost didn’t,” Kakashi confessed. “Though I suspect that I might have landed myself a bit of a troublesome team.”  
“Naruto and Sasuke sure are a handful. Sasuke used to be so quiet too… Naruto’s influence probably. He’s better like this though, don’t you think?” The Hokage smiled.  
“Maybe. Sakura’s the one I’m worried about. There is no doubt she’s a quick study, but she’s probably the weakest out of the new genin. Even the Yamanaka girl has something that makes her special, despite not excelling in any other area,” Kakashi said.  
“Maybe,” the Hokage said thoughtfully. “But I see potential in her. She reminds me of a certain someone… Anyways, you really think Naruto is ready?”  
“Of course he is,” Kakashi smirked. “He’s your son after all, Minato-sensei.”  
The Yondaime Hokage leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.   
“I hope you’re right.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who doesn't know what Baka-oya means: it's basically a doting parent, but to the typical Japanese extreme.

“What’s the distance to target?”  
“Five meters. I’m ready.”  
“So am I.”  
“Me to!”  
“Okay. Go!”  
Kakashi listened over the radio as the genin ambushed their target.   
“Gotcha! Owowowowow!”  
“Don’t let go, dobe!”  
“Don’t just stand there!”  
“And get clawed? No thank you.”  
“Are you certain it the target?” Kakashi asked over the radio.  
“Ribbon on the left ear… yup, it’s Tora alright,” Sakura reported.   
“Good. Lost Pet Tora Search Mission, complete!”  
“Goddammit Sasuke, get your ass off the ground and stop laughing! Help me already! Some friend you are, dattebayo!”

xxx

“My cute little Tora-chan, I was so worried!”  
“In your face, you stupid cat!” Naruto snickered as the tabby was crushed in the arms of her owner.   
“No wonder it ran away,” Sakura whispered.  
“Nice work, Team 7,” the Yondaime said as the Feudal Lord’s wife left. Sakura couldn’t help but be caught off guard every time she saw the Hokage in the same room as Naruto. She knew they were father and son, but the two were so different personality wise, despite their physical similarities. Yondaime was always so mellow and soft-spoken; it was like comparing Naruto to Hinata!  
“Your next mission… Babysitting an elder’s grandchild, shopping in a neighboring village, helping in the potato fields…”  
“No thank you!” Naruto announced. “Can’t you give us something more exciting?”   
“Yes please!” Sasuke said in an overly polite tone.  
“You idiot!” Iruka-sensei snapped. “All genin start with missions like these! You start here and work your way up!”  
“We always get the crappiest missions!” Naruto moaned. “I’m the Hokage’s son, dattebayo! I can handle it!”  
The yondaime smiled softly. Naruto was his mother’s son after all…  
“Listen, Naru,” Yondaime said, his voice gentle and almost nurturing. “The village receives many requests every day, from babysitting to assassination. We separate these missions by difficulty and give them a rank. Shinobi are given different ranked missions depending on their skill and their rank as a shinobi. Genin usually receive D-ranked missions for several months before being given their first C-ranked mission. So it will be a while before-”  
“-we went to Ichiraku last night, it’s my turn to choose!” Sasuke pointed out.  
“Ehhh? But you always choose boring places!” Naruto complained.  
“Are you even listening?” Iruka snapped.   
Naruto sighed and approached the Hokage’s desk. He gave his father the most innocent look possible. He batted his eyelashes and held his hands behind him, rocking side to side a bit. He finished the look with a slight pout.   
“I’m sorry, papa. I just really want to prove that I’m not just a troublemaker anymore! I’m a shinobi, dattebayo! Please?”   
“Like that’s going to work,” Sakura murmured.   
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Sasuke smirked. “Naruto and I have out own title for the Yondaime.”  
“Title?”   
“Yeah. The World’s #1 Baka-oya,” Sasuke snickered.  
“Well, I guess I could give you a simple escort mission,” The Yondaime said with a slight blush. Naruto turned back to his team with a triumphant smile.   
“Tazuna-san!”   
“What the hell is this?” the man demanded as he entered the room and took a swig of his alcohol. “They’re all a bunch of brats! Especially the short one with the stupid face. Are you really a shinobi?”   
“You shouldn’t pick on Sasuke like that,” Naruto said.   
“I think he was talking about you, dobe,” Sasuke ground out.   
“Eh?” Naruto compared his height to his teammates. “I’LL KILL YOU!”  
“You can’t kill the one you’re trying to protect, idiot,” Kakashi sighed as he held the young gennin back.   
“Your mission is to protect Tazuna-san on his way back to the Nami no Kuni and while he finishes building the bridge that will connect the country to the mainland,” Yondaime explained.   
“I leave my life in your hands,” Tazuna said dryly. “Unfortunately.”  
“There, there,” Sasuke patted the fuming boy on the head. “You can kill him after we finish the mission. I’ll even help you hide the body. Are there any sharks near your country?”   
“You’re scaring me Sasuke,” Sakura said warily. Sasuke gave her his brightest, most innocent smile.   
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”  
Yondaime watched Team 7 with an amused smile. God, he remembered when Kakashi was that cute! He missed his team…  
“Yondaime?”  
“Huh? Oh, uh, right,” he cleared his throat. “You will be heading out in about an hour. Good luck on your mission.”  
“Yes sir!” Naruto and Sasuke said melodramatically, complete with salute.   
“You two are so dumb.”  
“Shut it, nerd.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I haven't updated lately. Archive wasn't working on my computer for some reason! Please forgive the 6 day late update,

“Let’s go!” Naruto announced excitedly as Team 7 and Tazuna began to leave the village.  
“What are you so excited about?” Sakura asked.  
“I’ve never been to another village except for Suna before,” Naruto said. “I can’t wait to tell Hinata!”  
“Am I really safe with this brat?” Tazuna asked Kakashi.  
“Well, I am a Jounin, so you shouldn’t have to worry,” Kakashi reassured him.  
Naruto glared at the older man. He really wanted to punch the guy in the face.   
“Oi! You have any clue who I am? I am the Yondaime Hokage’s son, and the shinobi who will one day become the greatest Hokage in history, Namikaze Naruto! You better remember that, dattebayo!”  
“The Hokage is the strongest in the village, right? Like someone like you could do it,” Tazuna scoffed.   
“I’m gonna kill you!”  
“I said you can’t!” Kakashi sighed as he held the boy back.   
“Is he really the Hokage’s kid?” Tazuna asked incredulously. “Though I guess they do look alike…”  
“I have a hard time believing it myself at times,” Sakura murmured.   
“The Hokage seemed so level-headed. How did he get a kid like this?” Tazuna said loudly. Naruto was now being held back by his best friend, who looked like he’d rather help the genin than stop him.   
“He takes after his mother,” Kakashi said just loud enough for Tazuna to hear. 

xxx

“Ne, Sensei,” Sakura began. “Do they have shinobi in Nami no Kuni?”  
“No,” Kakashi said.   
Sasuke drowned the rest of the conversation out. Something was bugging him. He didn’t know why, but he felt as though someone was watching them. He couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. Kakashi seemed as relaxed as ever as he gave Sakura a lecture about the other hidden villages. Trust the nerd to want to be enthusiastic about such a thing. Though he guessed it wasn’t really a bad thing to want to learn…   
“Ne, Sasuke, what’s up?” Naruto asked.  
“Huh?”  
“You’re all tense. Something wrong?” Naruto asked again.  
“I don’t know, I-”   
“Kakashi-sensei!”   
The two genin turned in time to watch as their sensei was ripped into pieces by a chain held by two shinobi.   
“One down.”  
Sasuke’s heart stopped when he saw the shinobi make their way behind Naruto. Sasuke was barely able to see them move.   
“Two down.”  
Sasuke barely had a chance to move when Sakura threw the shuriken at the chain and pinned it to the tree. Sasuke jumped up and landed on their arms, glaring at them with rage filled eyes that held the barest hint of red.  
“Don’t you dare lay a finger on my friends,” he growled. Sasuke kicked the two of them in the face, sending them tumbling to the ground.   
The two were back on their feet in barely a second. One charged at Naruto while the other went straight for Tazuna. Sasuke hesitated. Naruto or Tazuna? Before he could make up his mind, Sakura jumped in front of Tazuna, ready to fight the enemy shinobi herself. He could barely see Naruto out of the corner of his eye, but he knew that look. Sasuke nodded slightly before charging to Sakura’s side. He practically threw himself in front of her, ready to use his own body as a shield.   
It turned out not to be necessary, as the shinobi was easily caught by the obviously not dead Kakashi, who had the other shinobi unconscious in his other arm. Naruto’s relief was written plainly on his best friend’s face.   
“Sorry for not helping you right away, Naruto. I got you injured. I didn’t think you would be unable to move,” Kakashi said. “By the way, good job, you two.”  
Sasuke watched as his best friend’s face fell from relief to horror, than shame. Sasuke wanted more than anything to console his best friend, but he knew it would do him no good. This was Naruto, after all. So he put on his most confident face as he approached Naruto, who was just barely getting off the ground.   
“You alright, scaredy-cat ?” he said.  
Naruto’s eyes blazed with fury, but Sasuke was unfazed. This was the nature of their relationship. Naruto didn’t need kind words or pity. He needed fuel, fuel that would encourage him to fight harder, to be better.   
“Not know you two. Their weapons are soaked in poison. We have to treat Naruto’s hand. If we don’t open the wound and drain the poison, it could spread throughout your body,” Kakashi said. I don’t want to have to explain to my sensei why I let his son die on his first C-ranked mission. “Tazuna-san, I need a word with you.”  
“These are chuunin from Kirigakure,” Kakashi began after tying the shinobi up. “These shinobi are after you. This isn’t part of the mission. We are only supposed to protect you from gangs and the like. The presence of enemy shinobi makes this a B, if not A-ranked mission. No doubt you lied in order to avoid the cost of such a mission…”  
“Oi, isn’t this too much for genin?” Sakura asked nervously. “And Naruto needs to get his hand treated.”  
“Maybe we should go back… This isn’t a mission for genin, plus we need to get Naruto’s wound treated-”  
Kakashi realized his mistake in wording the moment the kunai was plunged into Naruto’s hand. Sakura gasped and Kakashi was dumbfounded. Sasuke simply smirked knowingly.   
I won’t be a burden, dattebayo! How can I become Hokage if I spend the rest of my life being protected by Sasuke?   
“I’ll protect the old man!” Naruto said firmly. “We’re continuing this mission!”  
That’s my future hokage, Sasuke thought proudly.


	8. Chapter 8

“Naruto, it’s good that you’re releasing the poison but…” Kakashi was using an overly-friendly tone that made Sakura nervous. “if you lose too much more blood you could die.”  
Sakura expected Naruto to freak out, but he didn’t. He just gave Kakashi a look that said ‘seriously?’ and rolled his eyes.  
“Can someone just help me bandage this or something?” Naruto asked impatiently.   
“Hai hai,” Kakashi sighed. Kakashi knelt down with bandages in hand to treat the genin’s hand.   
“You should be more careful, dobe,” Sasuke asked, though his tone suggested he wasn’t really all that concerned.   
“Like something like this could kill me,” Naruto scoffed. Than Naruto's face darkened and he lowered his voice so that only Kakashi and Sasuke could hear him. “It’s not like I’m a regular human being after all.”  
Kakashi flicked his eye over to Sasuke in surprise. Sasuke was avoiding his sensei’s eyes. He looked over to make sure that Sakura was out of range before leaning in closer to whisper:  
“You know you aren’t supposed to be going around telling people about that.”  
“Sasuke isn’t people,” Naruto said stubbornly. Kakashi shook his head.   
“You two-”   
“Kakashi-sensei,” Tazuna interrupted. “If you are about done, I think I owe you an explanation.”   
Kakashi nodded. He gave the two boys a stern look.   
“We will discuss this later. And Minato-sensei will be hearing about this,” Kakashi said before going to join Tazuna.  
“What were you three whispering about?” Sakura asked.   
“Oh, we just wanted to make sure that Kakashi knew that Sasuke was on his period,” Naruto said.   
Sasuke’s face turned bright red and be began to sputter, too embarrassed to form any actual words. Sakura gave Sasuke a mischievous smile.   
“Sasuke! Is there something you’ve neglected to tell me about?” Sakura asked innocently. “I thought the genin teams still only had one kunoichi each.”  
Naruto began laughing so hard, tears were streaking down his face. Sasuke glared at the two of them and hit Naruto on the back of the head which only made the blonde laugh harder.  
“You three stop messing around and get over here!” Kakashi called. “You should hear this too.”

xxx

“The fog is so thick,” Sakura said. “I can’t see a thing!”  
“You should be able to see the bridge soon,” the boat man said. “Nami no Kuni is at the base.”  
Sure enough, it only took about five more minutes for the bridge to come into view.   
“It’s huge!” Naruto exclaimed.   
“Be quiet!” the boat man hissed. “We don’t want Gato’s men to find us!”   
It wasn’t long after that they came to shore. They look a longer route and docked in an area surrounded by vegetation that didn’t seem to be a place that people came to often. Tazuna bid farewell to the boat man, who left them at the shore.   
“My house is this way,” Tazuna said, pointing down a path that looked like it hadn’t been used in a very long time. “Please get me home safely.”  
“Yes, yes,” Kakashi sighed.   
Naruto began laughing to himself, though he tried to stifle it.  
“What are you laughing about?” Sasuke asked as they walked.  
“Oh, nothing, Sasuke-chan.” Sasuke groaned. “I wonder if Hitomi-chan knows…”  
“Hitomi? Who's that?” Sakura asked.  
“She’s Sasuke’s-”  
Naruto stopped suddenly. His attention was drawn to a bush near the path. Sasuke watched his friend curiously.  
“W-what is it?” Sakura asked nervously.  
“It feels like someone’s there,” Naruto said.  
Kakashi went to investigate. He reached into the bush and paused. The genin and Tazuna tensed. A white rabbit jumped out of the bush and ran away from the Jounin. The weary travelers let out a sigh of relief.   
“Don’t scare us like that!” Sakura said, hitting Naruto on the back of the head.   
“Don’t hit Naruto!” Sasuke snapped. He then proceeded to hit Naruto on the back of the head.  
“That hurts, teme!”  
“You can’t tell me not to hit Naruto and then hit him yourself!” Sakura scolded.  
“No one hits my friends but me,” Sasuke said stubbornly.  
“You two are so-”  
“GET DOWN!”  
The three genin reacted on instinct. Naruto and Sasuke dropped to the ground while Sakura pushed Tazuna down and followed. The sword flew over their heads and lodged itself on a near by tree. A man landed on the sword's hilt. A shinobi, no doubt. He was shirtless and had the largest muscles the genin had ever seen. His lower mouth was hidden behind bandages.   
I wonder if this guy likes perverted books too? Naruto wondered.   
“Well, well, if it isn’t Kirigakure’s missing nin, Momochi Zabuza,” Kakashi said. He sounded nonchalant, but Sasuke could sense the seriousness hidden behind the words. He found himself inching closer to Naruto, which earned him a glare from Naruto. “Everyone stay back. This one is on a whole ‘nother level. This might be tough…”  
Kakashi reached up for his headband that covered his left eye.   
“...unless I do this.”


	9. Chapter 9

“You are Sharingan no Kakashi, right?” Zabuza said. “Sorry, but the old man is mine.”   
“Sharingan?” Sasuke repeated in surprise.   
“Ah. You didn’t know about that?” Naruto asked.  
“No, I didn’t know!” Sasuke snapped.  
“Surround and protect Tazuna,” Kakashi ordered. “Do not enter the fight. That is the teamwork here. Zabuza…”  
Kakashi pushed his forehead protector out of the way, revealing the red eye for all to see. Sakura watched in confusion.  
“I already get to see the famous Sharingan. I’m flattered,” Zabuza said.   
“Sharingan? Isn’t that…?” Sakura began.  
“The Uchiha Clan’s Kekkei Genkai. With that, he can see through all Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu. He can even copy any technique he sees with that eye,” Sasuke said.   
“That’s right. When I was a member of Kirigakure’s assassination squad, I kept a bingo book. It included information about you,” Zabuza explained. “The man who has copied over 1000 jutsus, Kakashi the Copy shinobi.”  
“I didn’t know sensei was so great,” Sakura whispered to her teammates.  
“Of course,” Naruto huffed, smiling proudly. “He was my father’s pupil after all!”  
“Eh? Seriously?”  
“But how did he get the Sharingan?” Sasuke hissed.   
“Enough talking!” Zabuza finally snapped. “I have to kill that old man.”   
The three genin jumped into formation.   
“But it seems I have to beat you first!”  
Zabuza lept from the tree, taking his sword with him. He landed on top of the water, one hand above his head and the other before him, forming a seal.   
Ninpou, Kirigakure no jutsu.  
A heavy fog appeared out of no where and within seconds Zabuza was completely obscured from their view.  
“He’ll come after me first,” Kakashi said. “Zabuza is known as an expert in silent killing. You won’t even notice him until you’re dead. I am no Uchiha, and I can’t use the Sharingan perfectly, so be wary!”  
“Oi, is the fog getting thicker?” Naruto asked.   
“Eight choices.”  
“Eh?”  
“Liver, lungs, spine, clavicle vein, brain, kidneys, heart.”  
“Which one should I go after?”  
All three genin instantly felt the moment Kakashi’s chakra intensified and clashed with Zabuza’s. Tazuna of course couldn’t feel this, but he couldn’t help but jump when the genin did. Sasuke could feel the killing intent around them. Naruto… Naruto is in trouble… Naruto is going to-  
“Don’t worry,” Kakashi’s reassuring voice cut through Sasuke’s panic. “I’ll protect you guys even if it kills me. I don’t let my comrades die.”  
Sasuke physically relaxed at the words, and he could sense the others doing the same.   
“We’ll see about that!”  
They barely had a chance to register the fact that Zabuza had managed to get between them and Tazuna before Kakashi was there as well. He pushed the genin out of the way and stabbed Zabuza in the stomach with a kunai.   
“Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto screamed out in warning as a second Zabuza charged at him, swinging his blade. The first Zabuza collapsed into a puddle of water as the second cut clean through Kakashi.   
A Mizu Bushin?   
The second Zabuza was caught off guard as the fake Kakashi became a puddle of water.  
How did he copy it in this fog?  
“It’s over,” Kakashi announced as he held the blade to Zabuza’s throat.   
“Sorry but-” the second Zabuza began.  
“-I’m not that easy,” the third Zabuza finished as he seemed to appear out of no where behind Kakashi. The second Zabuza disappeared as the jutsu was released. Zabuza slashed at Kakashi with his sword and Kakashi ducked but couldn’t dodge the kick. Kakashi was sent flying into the water. Zabuza went in for a killing strike, but was stopped by the makibishi Kakashi had dropped on the ground. Zabuza left into the air, disappearing temporarily into the fog. Zabuza reappeared behind Kakashi as he finally broke the surface.   
Suiro no Jutsu  
Kakashi cursed as he was encased in a water sphere.   
“There’s no escaping that prison, Kakashi,” Zabuza said. He directed his gaze to the three genin still on dry land. “Now, time to take care of them.”


	10. Chapter 10

Mizu Bushin no Jutsu  
Thew genins tensed as the clone rose from the water and began to make it’s way towards them.   
“Wearing those headbands and pretending to be shinobi,” Zabuza’s voice was laced with scorn. “A real shinobi is one who has had numerous brushes with death. Only when you are good enough to be listed in my bingo book can you call yourselves shinobi!”  
The clone disappeared into the mist. Naruto barely had a chance to put his guard up before he was sent flying to the ground, his headband landing just before the clone. The clone stepped on the headband like he was crushing a bug.   
“Take Tazuna and run! You don’t stand a chance! He can’t move as long as he is keeping me in his prison!” Kakashi cried. “The clone can’t go too far from his real body! Run away now!”  
This is a jounin, Naruto thought, a real shinobi. At this rate, I’m really going to die, dattebayo!  
Naruto turned to push himself up and run, when pain drew his attention to his hand.  
Sasuke was ready to run to Naruto’s side when he saw the look on Naruto’s face. Naruto was remembering something. Sasuke looked at where Naruto was focused on: his wounded hand. He saw the moment Naruto came to a decision, but still he was unprepared for when Naruto charged at Zabuza.   
“No, don’t!” Kakashi cried.  
“Naruto, what are you thinking!” Sakura pulled at her hair in frustration.  
Sasuke tried to run to stop him, but before he made it even half way, Naruto was sent flying away again. Sasuke was at his side within moments, Sakura right behind him.   
“What were you thinking? Attacking him by youself? We genin don’t stand a chance!” Sakura scolded him. Sasuke was about to join her, but stopped when he realized what Naruto held in his hand.  
His headband?  
“Hey, you eyebrowless bastard!” Naruto growled out as he stood. Sasuke caught his eyes for a second. A grin spread across his face as he stood next to him. “Put this in your bingo book! The son of the Yondaime Hokage and the shinobi who will one day become the greatest Hokage in history!”  
Naruto tied the headband back onto his forward, a confident smirk on his face and a blue fire burning in his eyes.  
“The Konoha Shinobi, Namikaze Naruto!”  
“The Yondaime Hokage’s kid?” Zabuza said thoughtfully. “I’m surprised you would bring someone so… important on such a dangerous mission. What if he got hurt? Or kidnapped? I doubt your leader would be very happy about that. He has a lot of enemies, y’know…”   
It wouldn’t be that big of a deal if the idiot would stop announcing it to everyone he meets, Kakashi thought.  
“Hey, Sasuke, I gotta plan, dattebayo,” Naruto said.  
“Not one of your ‘plans,’” Sasuke gave a half-hearted groan.   
“Let’s show him the strength of Konoha’s greatest duo!” Naruto said proudly.  
“You have a lot of confidence, but do you really think you stand a chance?” Zabuza asked.  
“What are you doing? Run away!” It was slight, but Kakashi’s voice was beginning to betray a hint of desperation. “This fight was over the moment I was caught! Our mission is to protect Tazuna-san, or did you forget that?”  
“Ossan…” Naruto looked back to Tazuna doubtfully.   
“I planted this seed myself. I’m not going to say that I want to live enough to stop you so,” Tazuna gave them a carefree smile. “I’m sorry, guys. Fight as much as you want!”  
“You hear that?” Sasuke asked.  
“You ready, teme?” Naruto replied.   
The genin were caught off guard when Zabuza began to laugh.  
“Going to keep playing shinobi, eh?” Zabuza said between laughs. “When I was your age, my hands were already dyed red with blood.”   
The gennin felt their blood run cold.   
“Akuma no Zabuza…” Kakashi said.  
“So you’ve heard?” Zabuza asked.  
“In Kirigakure, in order to be shinobi, they had one last test,” Kakashi said, his voice low. “A fight to the death between students. Students who had been friends were forced to kill each other.”  
“Terrible…” Sakura mumbled.   
“They were forced to change, however, when one student killed over a hundred of his fellow students.”  
“That was a lot of fun,” Zabuza said with a nostalgic tone.  
The only warning they got was Zabuza’s eyes snapping to focus in on the two boys before Zabuza struck. He got Sasuke in the stomach with his elbow. Before anyone had a chance to react, he hit him again, slamming him into the ground.   
“Sasuke!” Sakura cried.   
Kage Bushin no Jutsu!  
Zabuza looked around casually at the clones that now surrounded him.  
“That’s sure is a lot of clones…”  
The clones attacked, only to be flung away, but it gave Sasuke his chance to get away.   
“Sasuke!”   
Sasuke looked up in time to see Naruto throw a large shuriken at him. He caught it easily, a grin spreading across his face when he realized what Naruto’s plan was. Sasuke stood and opened the shuriken, purposely drawing Zabuza’s attention to it.  
“A shuriken won’t work on me,” Zabuza spat.   
“Hn,” was Sasuke’s only response before throwing the shuriken, ignoring the bushin and aiming straight for the real Zabuza. Zabuza predictably caught it and it only took him a second to see the second one coming.   
The Kage Shuriken no Jutsu! Kakashi realized.   
“Still not enough!” Zabuza called out as he lept up to dodge the shuriken.  
Sasuke couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him.   
Not even Kakashi saw it coming. Naruto released his transformation. HIs momentum kept him spinning for a moment in the air. Naruto threw his kunai straight for Zabuza. Zabuza almost moved out of the way , but the kunai got his cheek and blood began to drip down his face. Enraged, Zabuza spun around to use his own shuriken against him, only to be stopped.   
“Kakashi-sensei!”   
Kakashi stood on top of the water, using the back of his hand to stop the shuriken.   
“Nice plan, Naruto,” Kakashi praised him. “You both did good.”  
“I got distracted and released the jutsu,” Zabuza said.  
“No, they forced you to,” Kakashi said firmly. Zabuza glared at the Sharingan user. “Now, let’s finish this.”


	11. Chapter 11

“I’ll tell you now that the same technique will not work on me twice,” Kakashi told Zabuza.   
The two shinobi broke apart. As soon as they landed on the water, the two began to make seals at a speed that was impossible for anyone to follow.   
Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!  
Two dragons made of water shot out of water and collided. Naruto was washed away in the water. The moment Sasuke saw Naruto’s head disappear under the water, Sasuke took off after him.  
“Sasuke!” Sakura called as Sasuke dived into the water. Sakura searched for her teammates. She stood before Tazuna, using herself as a shield between Tazuna and the fighting Jounin. The fight was getting more and more intense. Dread gripped Sakura’s heart when she still couldn’t see the two boys. Why hadn’t they resurfaced?  
“Go,” Tazuna said. “I think I’ll be fine for now.”  
Sakura nodded her thanks and began to run for the water.  
Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!  
Sakura was cut off by what seemed like a mini tsunami. The water barely missed her. She grabbed onto a near by tree until the wave passed, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth. She didn’t dare open her eyes until she could no longer hear the water crashing into ground. Instead, it was replaced by sputtering and cursing of familiar voices. She opened her eyes and looked around. She found what she was looking for a few yards away, soaked to the bone. Naruto was stretched out on his back and Sasuke was propped up with his arms behind him. Sakura ran to their side and dropped down to her knees.  
“Are you okay?” Sakura asked.  
Sasuke looked up at her and nodded slightly. Naruto propped himself up and looked around.  
“Where’s…?”  
“Over there!”   
Zabuza was standing against a tree, with Kakashi up on one of its branches. They were saying something, but they couldn’t hear from where they were. The next thing they knew, Zabuza fell over, completely still. A young boy, no older than themselves, stood on the branch of a nearby tree. Naruto and Sasuke got to their feet and ran to Kakashi’s side while Sakura went back to guard Tazuna.  
“He’s dead,” Kakashi told them when they were close enough to year him. Naruto stared at Zabuza’s body in shock.  
“Thank you very much,” the masked-boy bowed slightly. “I have been looking for a chance to kill Zabuza for a long time.”  
“A Hunter-nin, huh?” Kakashi asked.  
“That is correct,” the boy said.  
“What the hell?” Naruto finally snapped. “Who the hell are you?”  
“Naruto-” Sasuke started.   
“He’s not our enemy,” Kakashi said.  
“But Zabuza- we fought so hard, dattebayo! And he just-”  
“Naruto!”   
Naruto practically snapped his neck to look over at Sasuke. He could see the rage and the tears of frustration that he refused to let fall. Sasuke shook his head and hoped he was able to convey his sympathy even without words. Naruto looked down, grinding his teeth and clenching his fists. Naruto didn’t say another word as the hunter-nin took Zabuza’s body and disappeared.   
“Alright!” Kakashi said cheerfully. “I think it’s about time we took Tazuna home.”  
“Thanks, guys! Let’s go relax at my house!” Tazuna said.   
Sasuke managed a small smile. Naruto was still avoiding looking anyone in the eye. It was probably because of this he was the first to notice Kakashi as he fell to the ground.   
“Kakashi-sensei!”


	12. Chapter 12

“Hey, dobe!”  
Naruto sputtered as a bucket of water was dumped on his head.  
“What the hell, teme!” Naruto shouted.  
“Kakashi’s awake,” he said.  
“Yeah, well you soon won’t be!”  
Kakashi sighed when he heard familiar shouts through the walls, followed by a loud crash. Tazuna’s daughter- Tsunami- looked towards the door, alarmed.   
“Don’t worry, they’re always like that,” Kakashi said. “Though I worry about what damage they might be causing.”  
“They’ve been practically inseparable since they’ve been here though,” Tsunami said. “If they didn’t look so completely different, I would think they were twins or something.”  
“I don’t know, I think that’s pretty common for brothers, no?” Kakashi chuckled.  
“They aren’t actually…?”  
“No,” Kakashi said. “Though they might tell you different.”  
“STOP FIGHTING YOU IDIOTS!”  
“OW!”  
“DON’T HIT NARUTO!”   
“OW! TEME!”  
The three genin came to the room a few minutes later. The two boys both sported several bruises and were now sitting right next to each other, best friends again. Tsunami looked at the two of them, then to Kakashi. The Jounin chuckled. His expression changed into a serious one and the entire mood of the room shifted.   
“There’s something important we need to discuss,” Kakashi said,  
“What’s wrong, sensei?” Naruto asked.   
“Well,” Kakashi began. “Hunter-nins usually dispose of bodies by burning them or having them eaten by animals. They might take the head, but they usually don’t move the body at all. But what did the masked boy do?”  
“He took the body with him,” Sakura stated, not sure where her sensei was going.  
“Right. And there was the way he ‘killed’ him.”  
Simple needles… Sasuke thought. “You don’t mean…?”  
“That’s exactly what I mean,” Kakashi said.  
“What are you talking about?” Tazuna asked.   
“More than likely, Zabuza is alive,” Kakashi said.  
“EH?”  
“Didn’t you check the body?” Sakura asked.  
“Yes, but it is possible that with those needles, the boy was able to cause a momentary death, just long enough to try to fool us,” Kakashi said. “I may be wrong, but we will act as though I’m not. Better safe than sorry.”  
Sasuke felt Naruto shaking beside him. It wasn’t like Naruto to be frightened. He was going to tease him, but stopped when he saw the excited grin on his face. Sasuke shook his head. Of course the dobe would be happy Zabuza’s alive, that idiot!  
“Yosh! YOu three will be receiving special training!” Kakashi announced.   
“Training? What good will training do?” Sakura asked.  
“You have all been improving at a rapid rate, especially you, Naruto,” Kakashi said.  
“Then me and Sakura probably haven’t done any improving at all,” Sasuke muttered.   
“Shush! Don’t ruin the moment teme!” Naruto snapped.   
“Wouldn’t want sensei to come out of his delusions too soon, eh?” Sakura joked.   
“Not you too!” Naruto groaned.   
“We have some time. If my theory is correct, Zabuza won’t be able to do much moving around for a while. We will use that time to make you stronger,” Kakashi said.  
“Sounds like fun, dattebayo!”  
“How is that fun?”  
“Who the hell are you, dattebayo?” Naruto yelled at the newcomer.   
“There you are, Inari,” Tazuna greeted the boy with a smile.   
“Welcome back, grandpa,” the boy said as he went over to hug his grandfather.   
“Say hello, Inari. These are the shinobi who protected your grandfather,” Tsunami said.   
Inari stepped away from his grandfather and eyed the shinobi critically. Sakura was smiling slightly, a bit uncomfortable under his stare. Naruto was still glaring at him slightly, not at all amused by his earlier comment. Sasuke was preparing for the worst while Kakashi seemed indifferent to the entire situation.   
“Mom, these guys are going to die,” Inari finally announced.   
“What did you say, you little brat!” Naruto snapped.   
“There is no way you can stand against Gatou. You are all going to get yourselves killed like idiots,” Inari said.   
“You little- I’m gonna-!”  
“Why are you getting angry at a child?” Sakura scolded him. She was holding Naruto back on one arm while Sasuke held the other.   
“We can kill them after the mission, remember!” Sasuke assured him. “I’m sure there has to be some way to hide the bodies... The fog might help…”  
“What are you talking about…?” Tsunami asked, her eyes wide.   
“He’s joking,” Kakashi assured her. I hope.  
“Oi, Inari! Listen up!” Naruto held his fist out to him a confident smirk accompanying his glare. “I am the son of Konoha’s greatest hero and the Yondaime Hokage! I don’t know who this guy thinks he it, but he is nothing compared to me!”  
“Pft,” Inari rolled his eyes. “What are you stupid? There’s no such thing as heroes!”  
“What!”   
“Stop it!”   
“Get out. Leave, unless you actually want to die,” Inari warned them as he left the room.   
“Where are you going, Inari?” Tazuna asked.   
“To my room,” Inari said as he left the room.

xxx

“Where’s that brat’s room?” Naruto growled.  
“Just leave it, it’s not worth the trouble,” Sasuke sighed.   
“That brat needs to be taught a lesson, dattebayo!” Naruto declared as they went up the stairs. “When I’m done with him-”  
Sasuke was caught off guard when Naruto’s rage disappeared and was replaced by surprise. They had reached the top of the stairs and a couple of feet away was a door that was left slightly ajar. From the door was the undeniable sound of crying.   
“...Dad…”  
Naruto’s face softened. Sasuke place a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder . The boy shook his head, as if trying to shake a thought from his head. He turned around and headed back down the stairs, his best friend following behind him.


	13. Chapter 13

“We will start our training now.”   
Team 7 was in the middle of the woods, not too far from Tazuna’s home. From here, they had enough room to work with while still being able to hear any screams from the house. Not that Kakashi intended to remain with his team for the entirety of the training. After they understood what they needed to do, there wasn’t much need for him to be there anyway.   
“Hell yeah!” Naruto cried out excitedly.   
“This training is going to help you learn to control your chakra,” Kakashi said.  
“What? Why?” Naruto asked.  
“We can already use jutsus,” Sasuke pointed out.  
“Perhaps, but you aren’t using your chakra properly,” Kakashi sighed.  
“What do you mean?” Sakura asked.   
“As you know, you create chakra by mixing physical and spiritual energies in your body,” Kakashi said.   
“Is that what happens?” Naruto whispered to Sasuke.  
“Dunno. I think that was the class you convinced me to sneak out of,” Sasuke whispered back.  
“The type of jutsu you use affects the amount and type of chakra is released. You guys aren’t using it effectively yet. Even if you use a lot of chakra, if you can’t control it, the jutsu will be weakened or may not even work,” Kakashi explained. “That is the reason Naruto can use the Kage Bushin no Jutsu, but not the simpler Bushin no jutsu.”  
“I see,” Sakura said. “Naruto keeps using too much chakra when using the regular bushin jutsu, but with a kage bushin, more chakra is needed. Is that it?”  
“That’s right!” Kakashi praised. “It’s good to see we have someone intelligent on the team.”   
The two boys glared at the kunoichi, who just smiled proudly.  
“If you keep wasting unnecessary energy, you won’t be able to fight very long, which could end up getting one of you killed one day,” Kakashi said.  
“What so we do about it then?” Sasuke asked.  
“We train,” Kakashi said. “This training won’t be easy. It is really tough and is probably going to push you to your limits.”   
“What are we going to do?” Sakura asked.   
“Tree climbing.”   
All was silent for several moments. It was as though the genin’s brains had slowed to a near halt and was unable to process the information they had received. Once the information was finally processed in a way their minds were able to understand, the response was instantaneous.   
“TREE CLIMBING?”   
“Yep.”  
“Sounds boring,” Naruto groaned.  
“What kind of training is that?” Sakura asked.   
“Tree climbing has nothing to do with chakra,” Sasuke grumbled.  
“Well, let me explain,” Kakashi said. “This isn’t normal tree climbing. You won’t be using your hands.”   
“Sounds fun!” Naruto grinned.  
“How?”  
“We have left the realm of impracticality and have ventured into impossibility,” Sasuke said dryly. “Please continue.”  
“Just watch,” Kakashi said. He was still for a moment as he molded his chakra. He then turned towards the nearest tree and… began to walk up the side.  
“... Naruto, I think being your friend has finally driven me into insanity,” Sasuke said. Naruto wasn’t listening. His eyes were fixed on Kakashi. He had a stupid grin on his face as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing.-  
“Gather chakra on the bottom of your feet climb the tree,” Kakashi said. “If you can control your chakra, it’s actually rather easy. It’s a basic skill for any chuunin level shinobi. Plus, through this training, you will first learn to control your chakra. The amount of chakra needed is small, but it must be exact. Once you are able to control your chakra to that level, you will be able to master any technique, theoretically. Second, you will gain the stamina needed to execute jutsus during a battle that will require you to be in constant motion. Well, I think that’s enough talking.”  
Kakashi threw three kunai at the feet of the genin.  
“Use the Kunai to keep track of your progress. It takes a lot of control to simply walk up a tree, so get a running start and use your momentum to run up the tree.”   
Naruto picked up the kunai and gave Kakashi a confident smile.  
“This training is nothing to me! After all, I am the most improved of the three of us, dattebayo!”  
“Yeah, yeah, just pick a tree and start already,” Kakashi sighed.  
The genin were silent as they began to gather their chakra at the bottom of their feet. All at once, they ran forward. Naruto made first contact with the trees, only to fall back on his head. Sasuke made it up a few steps before the bark shattered under his foot and he lost his footing. He barely managed to mark the tree with the kunai before falling back to the ground.   
“It’s sure is harder than it looks,” Sasuke said. “Get up off the ground, dobe!”  
“This is earlier than it looks!” Sakura announced. The two boys looked up to find the Kunoichi sitting happily on a branch high above the ground. She swung her legs under her and stuck her tongue out at them.   
“Looks like the best one at chakra control right now is Sakura,” Kakashi said.  
“Not, bad Sakura!” Naruto called up.  
“I guess,” Sasuke grumbled.   
“Don’t be a sore loser, Sa-su-ke-chan!” Sakura giggled. Sasuke glared daggers at her.   
“It looks like Sakura is closer to becoming Hokage than a certain someone,” Naruto flinched. “I guess the Uchiha clan isn’t much either.”  
Sasuke fixed Kakashi with a dark glare. Naruto winced. Did he have to say that? Sasuke looked over to Naruto. His glare was gone, but there was shadow still there. Naruto smiled encouragingly. The two boys took a deep breath and ran.


	14. Chapter 14

“This is super fun!” Tazuna laughed. “It’s been such a long time since we’ve eaten with so many people!”  
Sakura watched, dumbfounded, as her two male teammates stuffed their faces. For some reason, the two appeared to be competing to see who could eat faster. The two held their bowls up, rudely asking for another helping. The two caught each other’s eyes and glared at each other. Sakura could almost see the sparks fly. Then their faces turned a deathly shade of green before the two were losing the food they just ate all over the floor.   
“If you are just going to throw up, stop eating!” Sakura snapped.  
“No, we must eat to keep up our energy,” Sasuke panted.   
“Yeah, no matter what,” Naruto agreed. “Because I have to get stronger, dattebayo!”  
“Yes,” Kakashi cautiously agreed. “But throwing up is no good.”  
“Don’t give them more!” Sakura snapped. “You two clean this up!”  
“But-”  
Sasuke and Naruto froze in their protests when Sakura turned glare towards them. She began to crack her fists as she approached. The two boys gulped.

xxx

“Hey, why do you have a torn picture hanging on the wall?” Sakura asked. The other two genins had just finished cleaning their mess and were now holding ice packs to their freshly bruised heads. The air seemed to turn heavy at the question. Tsunami hesitated in her cleaning of the dishes, before continuing.  
“He was my husband,” she said in a manner that suggested that was that. Tazuna, however, decided to continue.  
“He was a man who was once a hero in this country,” Tazuna said.   
“Inari, where are you going?” Tsunami asked as Inari stood from the table. He all but ran out the door and slammed it behind him. “Inari! Father, I asked you not to talk about hit in front of Inari!”  
Tsunami followed after Inari. The room fell into silence. No one knew what to say next. It was Sakura who finally worked up the courage to break the silence.  
“What’s wrong with Inari?” she asked carefully.   
“Inari, had a father once,” Tazuna began. “But they were not related by blood. Not that you would know by seeing them together. Inari used to laugh a lot. But… Inari changed… after his father was killed.”  
Sasuke found himself watching his friend out of the corner of his eye throughout the entire story. Naruto had his head rested on his arms and to anyone else, he would appear to be simply listening to the story about a man who took a lonely young boy under his wing and became a hero to the entire country, only to be killed trying to protect the country and family he loved.  
Hits a bit close to home, huh?  
“After that, everyone changed. Inari, Tsunami, even the entire country.”  
Naruto couldn’t sit still anymore. He jumped up and tried to leave, only to trip over his own feet and land face first on the floor.  
“Where are you going?” Sakura asked.  
“If you’re thinking about training, don’t. Take the day off. You can seriously hurt yourself if you don’t take a break,” Kakashi warned.  
“I’m going to prove it,” Naruto said as he stood. “I’m going to prove that heroes do exist!”  
Sasuke smirked as Naruto ran out the door.

xxx

“Naruto didn’t come back again last night?” Tazuna asked.   
“He’s been climbing trees since he heard your story,” Sakura explained. “He’s really simple like that. He’s probably used all of his chakra up and died by now.”  
“Is he alright?” Tsunami asked. “It’s dangerous for a young boy to be out in the woods all by himself like that.”  
“Don’t worry,” Kakashi reassured her. “He may not look like it, but he is a Konoha shinobi. He can take care of himself.”  
“I don’t know, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was dead right now,” Sasuke said, more to himself than anyone else. He stood suddenly and left without a word.  
“What’s the hurry?” Tsunami asked.   
Kakashi chuckled.

xxx

“You’ll catch a cold sleeping in a place like this.”  
Naruto’s eyes fluttered open slowly. He groaned when the sun hit his eyes. He looked up at the girl that had woken him. She was really pretty... He sat up lazily and rubbed his eye.  
“Who are you?” Naruto asked sleepily. 

xxx

“Is this the plant you wanted, nee-chan?” Naruto asked.   
“Yes, thank you,” she said.  
“This plant is medicine?” Naruto asked. “You sure work early.”  
“So do you. What were you doing out so early?”  
“Training!” he told her.  
“Eh? That headband… are you a shinobi?” she asked.  
“You noticed!” Naruto grinned proudly. “I am a shinobi from Konohagakure!”   
“Wow, you’re incredible,” the girl said in awe.  
“Hehehe.”  
“Why are you training?” she asked.  
“To become stronger of course,” he answered.  
“But you seem pretty strong to me,” she said.  
“No, I need to get stronger,” Naruto said firmly.   
“Why?”  
“So I can become the greatest Hokage in history! Besides, I’m the current Hokage’s son,” Naruto’s smile faded a bit. “What good am I if I’m constantly having to have someone protect me?”  
“Is that for yourself? Or for someone else?” she asked.  
“Huh?”  
“Do you have someone who is important to you?” she asked. “When protecting someone important to you, only then can you become truly strong.”   
Naruto fell silent as he thought. He smiled softly.  
“I do. Have someone. Well, more than one someone,” Naruto said.  
The girl smiled back at him then stood, taking her basket with her.  
“Than you will become truly strong,” she said. “May we meet again.”  
“Oh! And one more thing,” she said as she was leaving. “I’m a boy.”  
Everything fell silent as the ‘girl’ disappeared from view. Naruto was quiet for a few moments, processing the new information.  
“EHHHHH?”  
“Naruto!” Sasuke called as he ran towards his friend. “What’s wrong?”  
This world is weird,” Naruto said, not really acknowledging Sasuke. “This world is so weird!”  
“What’s gotten into you?” Sasuke asked. Naruto continued to ignore the other boy and mumble to himself. Sasuke sighed.   
“OW! TEME!”


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I'm a bit late posting this. My laptop doesn't like this site for some reason. But I'll post the next six chapters now!

“Where is Naruto?” Kakashi asked. He and Sakura stood in the woods that they had amde their training area. They were standing right before the trees Sasuke and Naruto had been climbing, but neither boy were anywhere to be seen.   
“He went off on his own this morning. He’s been missing breakfast a lot. At least he isn’t throwing up anymore…” Sakura sighed. “Sasuke went on a walk and hasn’t come back either.”  
Before Kakashi could respond, a kunai landed between them. The two looked around, trying to find the source. Their eyes landed on Naruto, who was resting on a branch far above their heads. He’d gotten even farther up that Sakura had managed!   
“He can climb that high already?” Sakura was in awe.  
“What do you think? See how high I can climb now, dattebayo!” Naruto called. Naruto tried to struggle to his feet. Kakashi watched in horror as Naruto’s feet slipped and he began to fall backward.   
“Ah! Idiot!” Sakura cried.  
“If you fall from that height-”   
Naruto screamed.  
My body is still-  
“Just kidding!” Naruto laughed as his feet grabbed onto the branch and he was now hanging upside down. Kakashi sighed in relief.  
“You scared me, you idiot!” Sakura scolded.  
“You fell for it-”  
Naruto’s chakra finally gave out, and he was falling.  
“You idiot!” Sakura screamed. “Stop showing off!”  
AHHHHHHHHHHHH-ah?”  
“Idiot,” Sasuke said. He was hanging upside down from a branch and firmly holding onto Naruto’s ankle.   
“Don’t call me an idiot, teme!”   
“I’ll call you whatever I want, dobe!”  
Kakashi sighed.   
“Let’s go,” Kakashi said. “They’ll be fine.”  
“But sensei-”  
“They’ll be fine,” Kakashi said. So long as they’re watching out for each other.

xxx

“Oh? You’re finally back,” Tazuna said as Naruto and Sasuke walked into the house. They were both covered in dirt and sweat. Sasuke was supporting Naruto, who looked completely worn out. “What happened to you two? You guys are really dirty.”  
“We made it to the top!” Naruto announced proudly.  
“Good,” Kakashi nodded. “You two will join us in guarding Tazuna on the bridge tomorrow.”   
“YOSH!” Naruto cried. He ended up knocking him and Sasuke to the ground.   
“Usuratonkachi.”   
“I’m so worn out myself,” Tazuna said as Sasuke helped Naruto to the table. “At this rate, we’ll have the bridge complete in no time!”  
“You and Naruto better not overdue it,” Tsunami said.   
Both groaned in response.   
“Why?” Inari asked softly.  
“What?”   
“Why do you try so hard!” Inari shouted. “No matter how hard you train, you’ll never be a match for Gatou’s men! No matter what glorious claims you make or whose son you are, the weak will always end up being killed by those stronger than them!”  
Naruto snorted.  
“Whatever, kid. I’m not like you.”  
“I’m glad! I’d hate to be like you! You don’t know anything, yet you keep sticking your nose in this country’s business!” Inari screamed through his tears. “What the hell do you know? You’re different from me! You’re always clowning around and pretending you’re so much better than everyone else because you’re some Hokage’s son! You don’t know how hard life can be!”  
“And that’s somehow worse than crying all the time and making myself some hero of my own personal tradegy?” Naruto sat up, glaring at the boy. Sasuke stiffened when he noticed Naruto’s pupils begin to slit. “Than go ahead and cry for the rest of your pathetic little life, you crybaby!”  
“Naruto you’ve said enough!” Sakura snapped.   
Naruto stood and left the room with his hands in his pockets. Sasuke followed, making sure to bump into the boy on his way out. If he buried the body deep enough in the woods, no one would ever find it, at least not for a while…

xxx

“Mind if I join you?” Kakashi asked. Inari didn’t respond as the jounin sat down beside him. “Naruto didn’t mean any harm by what he said. He just doesn’t really think things through before speaking.”  
Inari didn’t respond.  
“You know… Naruto’s never met his mother,” Kakashi said. Inari finally looked up. “His mother died the night he was born. The village was attacked by a monster and she helped the Sandaime Hokage seal it away. She was one of the village’s greatest heroes.”  
Inari looked away.   
“He is a lot more like you than you think,” Kakashi said. “I think that’s why he got so angry. He hasn’t had it easy, but he doesn’t complain and he almost never cries. Even when he’s sad, he does his best and never stops trying to make his dreams come true, and to make his father proud.”  
Inari didn’t know how to respond, so he said nothing and continued to look down at his hands.   
“He’s probably sick of crying by now. He knows what it means to be truly strong, just like your father. He probably understands your feelings better than anyone else.”  
“What?”  
“He doesn’t seem to be able to not be concerned about you.”


	16. Chapter 16

“I OVERSLEPT!”   
Naruto came crashing into the room, still in his pajamas. Inari was helping his mother sew.   
“Where is everyone?” Naruto demanded.  
“Sensei said that you should rest-”  
“I knew it! They left without me!”   
Naruto ran back into the room and changed as quickly as he could. Two minutes later he was flying out the door.   
“They should have woken me up!” Naruto complained. “Huh? What’s that?”  
It was a boar. Naruto stopped before it, confused. Are those… from a sword? There were slashes on the trees too. They were heading through the woods towards…  
Tazuna’s house!  
Naruto ran back the way he came. This was bad. Really bad. He stopped when he saw Tsunami being escorted out of the house by two men who were definitely not from Nami no Kuni. He hid himself as he surveyed the situation. Was it a kidnapping? Naruto quickly began thinking of a plan. He had to get Tsunami-san out of there!  
Kage Bushin no Jutsu  
Naruto began to relay his plans to the clones. Before he could finish, Inari burst out of the house.   
“Get-Get away from my mom!” the boy screamed as he charged. The two swordsmen drew their swords. Tsunami tried to stop them, but one of the goons knocked her out.   
Newplannewplannewplannewplan!  
Kawarimi no Jutsu!  
Naruto barely managed to make the switch in time. He grabbed the unconscious Tsunami and brought them a safe distance away.   
“Sorry, I’m late,” Naruto said. “But heroes always show up at the last second!”  
“Naruto!”   
“Good job, Inari,” Naruto smiled.  
“Well, well, if it ain’t one of the loser shinobi Tazuna hired,” one of the men chuckled.  
“Thanks to you distracting them, I was able to save your mom,” Naruto continued, ignoring the men. The goons, not at all happy with Naruto ignoring them, drew their swords and charged at them.  
“Naruto, watch out!” Inari cried. Naruto threw two shuriken at the goons, which they easily blocked.   
“Like that would work on us!” they scoffed.  
“Baka,” Naruto smirked.  
Inari gasped as two bushin took the men out. They crumbled with a single kick each. Inari stared in shock. Naruto… was this strong? He just thought that he was idiot, but he just…  
“Hey, Inari,” Naruto drew Inari from his thoughts. “Sorry for calling you a crybaby. You’re stronger than I thought!”  
Naruto patted him on the head with a proud grin on his face. Inari cursed when he felt tears welling up in his eyes.  
“I decided I wasn’t going to cry anymore,” Inari sobbed. “You’re going to make fun of me again…”  
“What are you talking about?” Naruto’s smile softened. “It’s alright to cry when you’re happy!”  
“Well,” Naruto looked over at the men his bushin had just finished tying up. “If they attacked here, then the bridge could also be in danger. I can count on you here, right?”  
“Of course!” Inari replied.  
“Man, it sure is tough to be a hero!” Naruto declared as he began to head out.   
“It sure is!” Inari called back.


	17. Chapter 17

Hijutsu: Makyo Hyosho!  
Sasuke watched as the water on the bridge and ascended around him, surrounding him in what looked like mirrors made of ice.  
What is this jutsu? Kakashi thought.  
Haku approached one of the mirrors and Sasuke watched as he seemed to be absorbed by the mirror. nExt thing he knew, Haku was reflected in all of the mirrors.   
“Shall we begin?”   
“What are theses mirrors?” Sasuke muttered to himself.  
“I’ll show you my real speed!”  
“Ow!” Sasuke gasped as he felt a sharp pain on his cheek. He touched it gently and pulled his hand away to see the blood. He barely had time to register what he was seeing before the next attack hit. It was like someone had unleashed a storm of needles that was trying to shred his body apart.  
“Move and I’ll kill those two,” Zabuza warned. Kakashi cursed.  
“Sasuke! Run!” Sakura cried. But it was no use. Even if Sasuke wanted to, the attack was coming from everywhere; there was no opening.  
“Tazuna-san, I’m going to have to leave you for a moment,” Sakura said urgently.   
“Go!” Tazuna agreed.  
Sakura ran towards the mirror prison and pulled out a kunai. Even if she can only help a little bit... She threw it towards a gap in the mirrors.  
“Sasuke!” she called.  
Haku caught the kunai. Half of his body had come out of the mirror in order to do so. Sasuke collapsed to the ground, glad for a moment of reprieve, even if Sakura’s plan to help had failed.  
“Don’t get in my way,” Haku warned. Haku raised the kunai. All five of the shinobi on the bridge were caught of guard, however, when the shuriken came straight for Haku’s face. Haku was able to move to avoid any serious damage, but it still managed to hit his mask. Haku lost his balance dodging the shuriken and fell out of the mirror. The shinobi stared at the cloud of smoke that the shuriken came from, trying to figure out who was hidden inside.   
“You’re late, dobe,” Sasuke smirked.   
“Namikaze Naruto has finally arrived!” Naruto announced. “Now that I’m here everything will be fine! The main character always arrives at the last moment to save the day, after all!”  
“You idiot, what’s with that loud entrance,” Kakashi grumbled. “You call yourself a shinobi?”  
“Naruto!” Sakura sighed in relief. Naruto might not be able to much on his own, but if the two of them work together…  
“Naruto!” Kakashi cried as both Zabuza and Haku attacked at the same time. Naruto prepared himself as the needles and shuriken flew at him. He wasn’t, however, prepared for the two attacks to collide with each other before either of them could get near him.   
“What’s are you doing, Haku?” Zabuza growled.   
“Let me fight these two, Zabuza-san,” Haku requested.  
“You don’t want me to interfere? You’re as soft as always,” Zabuza chuckled.  
Soft? He is, isn’t he? I didn’t even need to protect my vitals, Sasuke thought. Is he not trying to kill me. What is this jutsu? Are there clones in the mirrors? Or is it something else? The needles were too fast for me to keep track off. I couldn’t even tell where they were coming from. But with Naruto on the outside we can have both of us attacking at the same time…  
“Yo, I came to save you, teme!”   
Sasuke stared dumbfounded at the grinning blonde.   
“YOU IDIOT! YOU’RE A SHINOBI, SO USE YOUR HEAD! WHY DID YOU COME INSIDE THE MIRRORS! I DON’T EVEN CARE ANYMORE! IF WE DIE, I’M GOING TO STRANGLE YOU!”  
“WHAT DID YOU SAY, TEME? I COME TO SAVE YOU AND THIS IS THE THANKS I GET? WHAT’S WITH YOU, DATTEBAYO!”  
Sasuke’s attention was drawn away when Haku reentered the mirrors. He readied himself to attack.  
There’s the real one-!  
“Over here!”  
Sasuke looked behind him to find Haku, ignoring the new cut on his cheek. Sasuke turned and began to form his seals.  
Koton: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!  
The fire ball did nothing against the ice.   
“You can’t melt this ice with that level of jutsu,” Haku said.  
Haku attacked again and the two gennin cried out.   
“Dammit!” Naruto cursed as the attack ended. “Where’s the real one!”  
“Tracking this technique with your eyes is impossible,” Haku taunted.  
Kage Bushin no jutsu!  
“Then I’ll break them all!” Naruto announced as his bushins went to attack the mirrors. Neither gennin were able to see a thing as his bushins were destroyed and Naruto cried out in pain as he was sent to the ground.   
“This jutsu uses the mirror’s reflection to teleport. From my point of view, it as though you are moving in slow motion,” Haku explained,  
“Sp what!” Naruto spat. “I have a dream that I have to fulfill! I can’t die here!”  
Haku was silent for a moment.  
“It is hard for me to become a true shinobi,” Haku said. “I don’t want to kill you, nor do I want to make you kill me. But if you come at me, I will have no choice by to destroy my ‘gentle heart’ and become a true shinobi. Here, on this bridge, we fight to protect our dreams. Me for my dream, and you for yours. Please don’t hate me. I have someone precious I want to protect. Someone who’s dream I wish to help come true. For that reason, I can become a true shinobi.”  
“For that, I can kill you.”


	18. Chapter 18

“For that, I can kill you.”  
“Naruto! Sasuke! Don’t lose to that guy!” Sakura cheered.  
“Don’t encourage them, Sakura,” Kakashi said.  
“Huh?”  
“Even if they were somehow able to defeat that jutsu, they cannot beat that boy,” Kakashi said gravely.  
“Why?” Sakura asked.  
“They don’t have the strength to destroy their hearts and kill another person,” Kakashi said.   
“It is impossible for a true shinobi to be born in a peaceful village like yours,” Zabuza said. “You are denied the one thing you need: the experience of killing.”  
“Than what do we do, Kakashi-sensei?” Sakura panicked.   
“Sorry but I’m going to have to end this quickly,” Kakashi said.

xxx

“Dammit! All we’re doing is running around, dattebayo!” Naruto grumbled as he struggled to his feet.  
“Just be quiet and stand up!” Sasuke snapped. “We’re going to be hit no matter what, just try to avoid any serious wounds. He has to run out of chakra eventually!”  
This is bad! Sasuke thought. We have to do something! My eyes are slowly getting used to his speed. Maybe…  
He’s getting better at dodging me, Haku observed. That boy… he sees something… But you should be at your limit.   
He’s coming! Sasuke tensed. Calm down… Concentrate… and see through it!  
Sasuke jumped to action. He grabbed Naruto and dragged him out of the way of Haku’s attack. He ended up stumbling and the two boys tumbled to the ground but the attack didn’t so much as graze either of them.   
He dodged it! How-?  
Sasuke looked up and Haku was caught in his blood red graze.  
Sharingan!  
“You… I see. You are an Uchiha,” Haku concluded.  
It wasn’t complete, but the Sharingan was dangerous enough when it was Kakashi using it. Haku’s jutsu used a lot of chakra. He was running out of time. He couldn’t risk a long confrontation with a true Sharingan heir.   
… than I’ll just use that boy!  
“Naruto!”  
Naruto groaned at the sound of his name. When did he lose consciousness? He rolled over and propped himself up on his hands, wincing in pain as he did so. He saw Haku on the ground and Sasuke standing between them. Naruto smiled with relief as he looked up to Sasuke.   
Naruto’s heart stopped.  
Just how many needles were in his friend’s neck? Naruto hadn’t even noticed the specks of blood around him. Was it Sasuke’s? Sasuke coughed; the sound was sickening and blood splashed on the ground before him.   
“Why?” Naruto whispered. “Why why why why!”  
Naruto glared up at his best friend with tears in his eyes.  
“How many times… how many times do I have to tell you that I don’t need your protection! You…”  
Sasuke smiled softly.   
“How… can I not… dobe…”  
Naruto caught Sasuke as he finally collapsed. Sasuke still had that soft smile on his face. The sight made Naruto’s chest tighten in pain.  
“Looks like… I won’t be able… to make my dream… come true,” Sasuke said. His voice was barely above a whisper and every word looked like it was causing him an immense amount of pain. “Don’t… you dare… die too…”  
“Sasuke?” Naruto whispered. Sasuke didn’t respond. His eyes were closed and his body was limp in the genin’s arms. “Oi. Teme. Don’t mess around. This isn’t funny!”  
“He jumped into the way without hesitation,” Haku said as he struggled to his feet. “He knew it was trap, but in order to protect his precious person, he jumped in anyway. He willingly gave his life to protect yours. He is a shinobi worthy of respect.”   
“Is this the first time seeing a friend die?” Haku asked as he returned to his mirrors. “This is the way of the shinobi.”  
“Shut up…”

xxx

“A dream?” Sasuke asked.  
“Yup!” the eight-year-old Naruto smiled brightly. “I’m going to be the greatest Hokage ever, dattebayo! What about you? What do you want to be?”  
“I…” Sasuke looked down. “I don’t know.”  
“You don’t know?” Naruto frowned. “You don’t want to be a shinobi?”  
“I’m an Uchiha,” Sasuke said. “I have to be.”  
“That’s kinda sad,” Naruto said.   
“Why?”   
“Because you don’t have a reason to get stronger, dattebayo!” Naruto exclaimed.   
“I’m-”  
“Being an Uchiha isn’t a reason, dattebayo” Naruto interrupted. “Something shallow like being an Uchiha or being the Hokage’s son isn’t enough. As proud as I am of being my father’s son, I am not him. I want to be Hokage for me, not because of him. The same goes for you. It’s fine to be proud of being an Uchiha, but that isn’t really who you are, right?”   
Sasuke stopped. Naruto walked a few more steps before he noticed his best friend wasn’t walking with him anymore. He stopped and looked back at him.   
“What’s up?” he asked.  
“I’ve decided,” Sasuke said firmly. “I know what my dream is.”  
“Eh? Just like that?”   
“Yup,” Sasuke smiled confidently. “My dream is…”

xxx  
“I won’t forgive you…”  
Haku caught Naruto’s eyes and froze. Never before had a simple glance caused such fear in him. He could feel Naruto’s chakra changing. His eyes had changed. They were red, but it was definitely not the Sharingan. His pupils had slit and Haku swore he saw his canines and nails grow into fangs and claws. He was no longer looking into the eyes of a young genin. This was a beast.  
And Haku was his prey.  
“I’ll kill you!”


	19. Chapter 19

Haku watched as chakra began to spill from Naruto’s body. The chakra was red, a color Haku never thought possible for chakra. The chakra poured out hatred and rage. It an evil chakra. The chakra began to take shape. It swirled around Naruto as he gently placed Sasuke’s body on the ground before standing. The chakra took the shape of a fox’s head above the boy. Haku watched as the boy’s wounds began to heal and Haku’s needles fell to the ground.   
Naruto charged.   
Haku attacked but Naruto used to pure chakra to deflect the needles. Haku moved to a mirror above the boy. Naruto skidded to a stop and began looking around for his prey. Haku took advantage of his distraction and charged at the boy. However, Naruto saw him coming. He leapt into the air and spun out of the way. Haku tried to run back to the mirrors, but Naruto was on him in an instant. He was caught. Naruto let out a deafening roar. Haku’s mirrors began to crack under the force of his chakra.   
Naruto’s fist collided with Haku’s mask. Haku was caught off guard by Naruto’s new super human strength. Haku was sent flying into one of his mirrors and he didn’t stop there. The mirror was destroyed under the force of the hit. The rest of the mirrors crumbled. Haku finally stopped several yards away.  
Haku slowly got to his feet. He was distantly aware of Naruto charging at him. His mask began to crumble. Haku felt as though he was in a dream. Nothing felt real. He turned to face his enemy and realized a horrible truth.  
Zabuza-san… I cannot defeat this boy… Zabuza-san…  
Naruto stopped. Haku blinked in confusion. He could instantly feel the difference in the boy’s chakra. That evil chakra was gone and his chakra had returned to normal.   
“You…” Naruto looked up. His blue eyes betrayed his confusion. “You’re the one from the forest…”  
“Why did you stop?” Haku asked. “I killed your important friend, but you can’t kill me?”  
Naruto’s anger rose again, but no where near to the intensity it was before. Naruto punched Haku, but it lacked the strength of the last one.   
“People have made this mistake before. Letting their enemies live out of pity and leaving them with nothing but their lives…” Haku said. “Not having a dream. Not being needed by anyone. Simply just existing…”  
‘“What are you talking about?” Naruto snapped.  
“Zabuza-san has no need for a weak shinobi,” Haku said and smiled sadly. “You have taken away my reason for existing.”  
“Why…? Why for a guy like that…?” Naruto spoke as though he was barely able to keep his anger at bay. “That guy… he’s a murderer who kills for money! Is he really the only important person you have?”  
“I had people very dear to me once,” Haku said. “My parents.”

xxx

“Please, Naruto. Kill me,” Haku begged. “Why are you hesitating?”   
“You..” Naruto’s mind was reeling. “Why did you have to be this way? Why… you could have found something or someone… anyone else!”  
“I don’t expect you to understand,” Haku said. “But, that day in the forest, I knew that you were different. Maybe, if I had met you before Zabuza, things would have been different.”  
“Is this… is this really the only way?” Naruto asked.  
“Yes.”  
Naruto nodded slightly and drew a kunai.  
“Thank you, Naruto,” Haku said. “Fulfill your own dreams.”   
“He…Sasuke had a dream too,” Naruto muttered. With that, he charged.  
“Thank you,” Haku whispered as he closed his eyes. You will become strong one day.


	20. Chapter 20

Haku caught Naruto’s hand just as he was about to strike a fatal blow.   
“I’m sorry, Naruto-kun,” Haku said. “It seems I have one last thing I must do!”  
“Eh?”   
Before Naruto could ask, Haku was gone. Naruto looked around, confused. His eyes eventually landed on Sasuke’s body. He slowly approached his best friend. When he reached his side, he fell to his knees. 

xxx

“I’ve decided,” Sasuke said firmly. “I know what my dream is.”  
“Eh? Just like that?”   
“Yup,” Sasuke smiled confidently. “My dream is to see you become the Hokage!”  
“What kind of dream is that?” Naruto asked.  
“I’m gonna do it! I’m going to help you- no, I’m going to make sure you become the Hokage. And then when you are Hokage, I will be right by your side.”  
Both boys grinned.   
“It’s a promise, then?” Naruto asked.  
“One I have no intention of ever breaking!” 

xxx

“Teme…” Tears began to fall down Naruto’s face. “You promised… You promised… How could you… you broke your promise!”  
He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t stand being there any longer. He stood and turned away. He made his way over to where he knew Kakashi and Zabuza were still fighting, not once looking back. 

xxx

“Eh?”  
Naruto could barely understand what he was seeing. Kakashi and Zabuza stood facing each other but someone was standing in between them. It was Haku. He stood there with Kakashi’s hand piercing his chest.   
“Good job, Haku,” Zabuza praised the dead boy.  
Naruto was dumbfounded.  
“Kakashi-sensei!”  
Naruto watched in horror as Zabuza drew his weapon and began to slash at Kakashi and the boy. Kakashi grabbed onto the boy and jumped out of the way. Rage filled Naruto. He was… He was going to…  
“Naruto, stay there!” Kakashi yelled. “This is my fight!”  
Sakura hadn’t even noticed Naruto approach until then. She sighed in relief when she saw him.   
“Naruto! You’re alright-”   
Sakura stopped when he saw Naruto’s face. His eyes were puffy and red and tears stained his face. Dread filled her heart.  
“Na… ruto?” Sakura asked. “Where… where’s Sasuke?”  
Naruto looked up at her. His eyes were wide and lost.   
“He promised…” Naruto began to whisper to himself. He clenched his fist. “He promised.”  
Sakura and Tazuna cautiously made their way to Naruto. Sakura gently placed a hand on his shoulder.  
“Naruto? What happened?”  
“He promised,” Naruto repeated. “He said… he said he was going to make me the Hokage. He said that was his dream. He said he wouldn’t die until then. He promised.”  
Sakura didn’t want to acknowledge his words. It was almost as if…  
“Let’s both go,” Tazuna whispered. “That way you won’t be breaking your sensei’s order.”  
Sakura nodded. She took Tazuna’s hand and took off towards where the boys had fought Haku, leaving Naruto alone. 

xxx

Sakura stared in shock at Sasuke’s body. Tazuna looked away. Sakura fell to her knees and gently touched Sasuke’s cheek.   
“He’s cold… this isn’t an illusion…” Sakura said, her voice barely above a whisper. “Sasuke didn’t used to smile like he does… like he did. When he first started the academy, he was always quiet and didn’t really have any friends. He spent all of his time studying. Even when he did smile, it always seemed... fake. Then he became friends with Naruto. He changed. He and Naruto would play pranks on everyone. He and I clashed a lot. Probably because I was always one of the first ones to retaliate against Naruto. He was always so protective of him. But I admired him, in a way. I was picked on a lot and I hated myself until another girl reached out to me. We were a lot alike, in that way…”  
“You can cry if you want to,” Tazuna said. “Don’t mind me.”  
“I always got 100% on my shinobi exams,” Sakura began. Her voice was monotonous and distant. “I always wrote the correct answer. Than one day, this question appeared. Write down Shinobi Rule no. 25. I wrote down the answer as usual. ‘No matter what the situation, a shinobi must keep their emotions on the inside. A shinobi must always put the mission first. A shinobi must posses a heart that never allows them to show tears.’ That… is the way of the Shinobi.”  
Tazuna watched the girl as she continued to stare at the body of her former teammate. Only a solitary tear betrayed her true emotions.  
This is what it means to be a shinobi, Tazuna thought. It’s too cruel...


	21. Chapter 21

"You're getting your ass kicked? How disappointing."

The three shinobi stared in surprise at the short man and his goons. There had to be at least twenty of them!  
"Gatou. What are you doing here? And what is with those men?" Zabuza growled.

"The plan has changed," Gatou chuckled. "Well, not really. I planned on doing this from the start. Zabuza, I'm going to have you killed here."

"What?"

"I never planned on paying you. Hiring a normal shinobi from a village is expensive and they might betray me. So I use missing-nins who are easy to expose of afterward. Good plan, eh? The only problem was you Zabuza. Devil of the Mist… more like a cute little devil."

"We can easily kill you now!" one of the goons cheered.

"Our fight is over, Kakashi," Zabuza said. "I have no reason to go after Tazuna now. My reason for fighting you is gone."

"Huh?"

"I guess you're right," Kakashi said.

"This is the one who broke my arm," Gatou said as he approached Haku's body. He sneered and kicked him. "Dead, huh? Good riddance!"

"What are you doing, you bastard!" Naruto charged at the short man. Kakashi grabbed him by the collar.

"Stop! Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Kakashi scolded.

"Hey! Say something! Weren't you friends?" Naruto practically screamed at Zabuza.

"Shut up kid. Haku is already dead."

"Don't you feel anything?"

"Just as Gatou used me, I used Haku. That's all it was. In the world of shinobi there are only those who use and those who are used. We shinobi are tools. What I wanted was his blood, not him. I have no regrets."

"You… do you seriously mean that?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"Why do you care?" Zabuza asked. "He killed your friend didn't he?"

"You-"

"Stop, Naruto! We aren't fighting him anymore," Kakashi said.

"My enemy is still him!" Naruto yelled. "He loved you! He really loved you! DO you really feel nothing? You really… really don't feel anything? If I become as strong as you, will I really be like you? He gave up his life for you! Without fulfilling his own dream… to die as a tool… that's just too sad!"

"Hay… gaki…"

Naruto, who had began to cry again by the end of his rant, was caught off guard by Zabuza's tears.

"You… don't have to say anymore," Zabuza said. "It pained him to fight you. Haku… was too kind. I'm glad… I got to face you guys as my last opponents. You may be right. Shinobi are still humans. We may be incapable of becoming emotionless tools. I've lost."

Naruto was silent. For the first time in his life, he was at a loss as to what to say.

"Hey, lend me your kunai," Zabuza requested.

"Huh. Oh. Sure."

Naruto took one of his kunais out of his holder and tossed it to the missing-nin. Zabuza caught the kunai with his teeth.

The rest was over in less than a minute.

xxx

"It's a promise, then?" Naruto asked.

"One I have no intention of ever breaking!"

"You'd better not!" Naruto said. He was still smiling, but the smile no longer reached his eyes. "You can't go and die before then alright?"

Sasuke's smile fell.

"Naruto…"

"You… you're my first friend y'know? Everyone is nice to me because of my dad, but they still avoid me. So you can't go and leave me before you fulfill your promise, okay?" Naruto said seriously.

"I promise," Sasuke said, Naruto clasped his hands on his shoulders and looked straight into his eyes.

"I won't forgive you. If you dare give up again… If you ever try to… I won't forgive you. You got that?"

"I get it," Sasuke assured him, giving him a small smile. "You're going to be stuck with me for the rest of your life, dobe."

"I better be, teme."

xxx

Naru… to….

THe first thing he was aware of was a hand on his cheek. It didn't move; it was just resting there. It was rather warm, actually. The next he felt was the pain. He could feel the needles in his skin and the hundreds of cuts all over his body. He was tired. So tired. He just wanted to the hand moved. It wasn't much; just the thumb. It wasn't much, but it began to rouse him. He opened his eyes slowly.

"Sa.. kura?"

Saskura's eyes widened. Sasuke looked up at her is confusion. Was she crying…?

"Sasuke?" she asked softly. In the next second, she was glaring at him. There was no real heat behind her eyes.

"You… baka! You scared me!" Tears began to fall freely and Sakura sobbed. "Baka, baka, baka, BAKA!"

Sasuke groaned in pain as he sat up. Sakura stopped yelling at him and began to help him. Sasuke gave her a soft smile in thanks.

"We thought you were dead," Tazuna laughed in relief.

"Dead… Naruto!" Sasuke tried to stand, but fell back down. "Where's Naruto and the masked kid?"

"Naruto's fine. The masked kid is dead," Sakura reassured him.

"Dead? Did Naruto…?"

"No. He died protecting Zabuza," Sakura said. Sasuke tried to stand again and managed it this time with Sakura's help. "You… you should be more careful."

"I can take care of myself," Sasuke assured her. "But tha-"

"Naruto was really messed up," Sakura interrupted him. "You promised him right?"

xxx

"My dreams… I don't really have one."

xxx

"He promised," Naruto repeated. "He said… he said he was going to make me the Hokage. He said that was his dream. He said he wouldn't die until then. He promised."

xxx

"If that's the case, then you better keep it."

Sasuke was caught off guard. He smirked.

"I fully intend to," he said confidently. "Thank you."

"For what?" Sakura waved him off. "Naruto! Sasuke's fine! He's alive!"

Naruto spun around so fast Sasuke was surprised he didn't get whiplash. He still had tears streaked down his face. Naruto began to cry again, this time in relief, but stopped himself. He wiped his face off and gave him a disapproving look.

"Oi! Took you long enough, dattebayo!"

Sasuke grinned.

"I'm the future Hokage's right hand man! As if I'd die here," Sasuke scoffed.

Sakura shook her head.

"Hey, aren't you guys celebrating a bit too early?"

Their attention was drawn to the goons on the other side of the bridge.

"Hey, you damn shinobi killed our meal ticket!"

"You are so dead!"

"We're gonna pillage the village and take anything of value!"

"Let's begin!"

"This is bad," Kakashi said in a voice much too calm for the situation as the thugs began to charge.

"Kakashi! Don't you have some special jutsu that can take care of them all?" Naruto asked.

"I don't have enough chakra, not after using Raikiri and the Sharingan."

Before the thugs could even make it half the distance to them, an arrow landed on the bridge before them.

"Hey, if you come any closer to this island-" Naruto and Kakashi turned to see all the men of the village gathered with whatever they could get their hands on for weapons. In the front was Inari with the crossbow the arrow had come from. "-the citizens of this country will stop you with everything we've got!"

"Inari!" Naruto cried.

"A hero arrives at the last second, right?" Inari smirked.

"Yosh, I can help too, dattebayo!"

Kage Bushin no Jutsu!

Four more Naruto's joined the first, causing the now nervous thugs to flinch.

I can do that much at least, Kakashi thought.

Kage bushin no Jutsu!

… Kakashi style!  
"You want some of this?" Kakashi and hid bushins taunted.

"NO WE DON'T!" the thugs screamed in terror before running back to the boat they had arrived on.

"Huh?" Naruto looked up as his bushins were dispelled. "Snow?"

Sure enough, it had began to snow. Movement caught Naruto's eye and he looked over to see Kakashi laying Zabuza down next to Haku. The entire village was silent as Zabuza made his final farewells to the boy he had taken under his wing so many years.

"He… Haku was born in a snowy village," Naruto managed between sobs.

"I see," Kakashi said. "He was a boy as pure as the snow."

xxx

2 weeks later…

xxx

"Kakashi-sensei…"

"What is it, Sakura?"

"Were they right?" Sakura asked. "About Shinobi."

"A shinobi isn't supposed pursue his own goals. Becoming the country's tool is the most important thing," Kakashi answered. "It's the same in Konoha."

"Is that was it really means to be a shinobi?" Naruto frowned. "I don't like it."

"Do you believe that too?" Sasuke asked.

"That's…" Kakashi fell silent for a moment. He stared at Zabuza's and Haku's graves as though he was contemplating something. "Every shinobi has to spend his life dealing with that issue."

"You didn't answer my question," Sasuke pointed out.

Kakashi didn't respond.

"I've decided," Naruto declared. "I refuse to accept that shinobi are just tools. I won't live my life like that! I'm going to be shinobi my own way!"

Both Sasuke and Kakashi smiled proudly.

"I have no doubt you will…"

xxx

"Thank you. For everything," Tazuna said. "We're going to miss you."

The shinobi stood before the new bridge as they said their farewells. Inari and Naruto were doing a horrible job trying not to cry. Sasuke rolled his eyes at his friend.

"Don't worry, we'll come to visit, dattebayo!" Naruto assured them.

"You… better…" Inari's voice cracked out.

"You… you're sad right?" Naruto asked. "It's okay to cry!"

"I'm not going to cry!" Inari shouted. "But… Naruto… you can cry too!"

"Well… later!"

Both boys burst out in tears as soon as the other wasn't looking.

They're like twins, Sakura thought.

Sasuke chuckled softly and reached out to wrap his arm around his friend's neck and ruffle his hair.

That boy changed Inari's heart and Inari changed the people's hearts. That boy gave us a bridge to hope called courage... oh yeah, we need to name the bridge. I think I have the perfect name too.

Oh? What is it?

The Great Naruto Bridge.

xxx

"Why are you back already?"

"Change in plans."

"What?"

"We ran into a couple of Kirigakure missing-nin and they told us an interesting story. Apparently they were defeated by a jounin and three genin. They described one of the genin as being a blonde boy with a loud mouth and six marks on his cheeks."

"Well, well, well. Sounds like the Yondaime finally let his boy out of his cage. Big mistake."

xxx

TRANSLATIONS

Kage Bushin= Shadow Clone


End file.
